In season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, professional dancers Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson are paired with celebrities who have prior dancing experience, but they say challenges remain.
Chmerkovskiy, 40, is paired with Jenna Dewan, 45, who started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and is also known for her role as Nora Clark in the iconic 2006 dance film Step Up.
Johnson, 32, is paired with Harry Shum Jr., 44, who has a similar background to Dewan’s: he was a backup dancer for artists including Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, and also played Mike Chang on Glee.
“Premiere: Night Two” – The female celebrities make their competition debut, performing to a No. 1 song from the year they were born, with one eliminated at the end of the night.Eric McCandless / Getty Images
Speaking exclusively to In Touch, Johnson and Chmerkovskiy believe the judges factor in their dance partners’ prior experience when scoring.
Johnson elaborated: “I think you saw it in the premiere night. I think they are holding our partners to a little bit of a higher standard based on their experience, which is great. We don’t want a free pass. I think both of our partners are very hungry to do ballroom correctly and learn the technique and display it correctly, so it does add that pressure.”
Dewan and Chmerkovskiy, for example, didn’t top the women’s leaderboard during premiere week, earning 19 out of a possible 30 points. Shum Jr. and Johnson, on the other hand, earned 21 out of a possible 30 points, topping the male celebrities’ leaderboard that week.
Chmerkovskiy added that while he thinks Dewan’s “talent is a huge advantage,” the real assets she brings to the show are her artistry and eagerness to reveal herself to the world as an incredible person and mother. He believes all of this translates well to Dancing with the Stars.
Johnson hopes her Glee alum dance partner can rekindle his love for dance, which she says he lost because of high stress and pressure. The pair were prepared for early criticism, but they both agreed that their main focus should be to bring joy to dance. For now, she’s proud that the show’s popularity “has exploded” and, as a result, has brought dance back to the forefront of conversations and public interest.
Dancing with the Stars held its season 35 premiere over two nights, September 15 and September 16.
Dancing with the Stars is available to watch on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
Related: Derek Hough Sends a Direct Message After Backlash Over ‘DWTS’ Premiere Scores
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